Tag: pressure

Most students have a reason for wanting to study, but it depends on what that reason is that is going to determine how motivated they remain. In the beginning of a new semester, students are usually highly motivated to do better. As time goes on, many students loose this drive and motivation, because they do not have a cemented purpose.

If you want to achieve your highest goals, you need to perhaps re-evaluate you reasons. Let’s say you are busy with a psychology and criminology personal statement and half way through you lose your motivation. If you had a higher purpose to keep your motivation intact, you would not stop until it is done. A lot of this is a mind-set change with a combination of an attainable goal. Here is how a higher purpose affect your studies.

I remember a few years ago I was watching a news program and it offered a list to teach parents about decoding texting slang they claimed teens were using. Among some of the more colorful gems were:

– LHS – Let’s have sex

– IGTD – I got the drugs

– PIRDTAS – Parents in rooms don’t talk about stuff

– SMH – Satan makes me happy

These were so ludicrous that I have never forgotten them. Have you ever seen those used anywhere? Can you imagine your teen doing it? Of course not, it was so out of touch that I was sure it must have been a joke (spoiler: it wasn’t).

Slang is a normal part of communication, especially for young people as they assert their independence. Each generation has their own and in the digital era it is a little different than the “boss” and “sick”’s of our own decades.

Not too long ago, I saw a Facebook comment on a George Takei post. A man from the Baby Boomer generation was going on a rant about the Narcissistic Generation & Millennials and how they were useless, lazy, didn’t know what they were doing, didn’t have real jobs, didn’t buy houses and more. It was quite a list of sins.

One particular thing which stuck out to me was his vehement claim of narcissism. This online stranger claims that millennials are selfish, self-absorbed narcissists.

Narcissistic Generation or a Value-Shift?

I don’t normally engage with random people on the web; however, his passionate rant rubbed me the wrong way.

We spend more than 90% of our time indoors, yet how often do we consider the air quality of our homes? Polluted air is often linked to traffic filled streets and coal burning factories, but pollutants released outside will disperse easily. Our homes lock in dirty air and contribute to the onset of asthma and even lung cancer. You can improve wellbeing by spending time in nature, but for when you are home, here are some steps you can take to clean up the air.

Remove Toxic Chemicals

The list of products that pollute the air in your home is endless: cookers, cleaning products, moisturisers and air fresheners all mean that the air indoors is dirtier than outdoors. Luckily, there are natural alternatives for most of these things.

No one learns without failing or making mistakes. Yet, we as parents often forget this universal truth as we raise our children. Instead of pushing them to take risks, experiment and uncover their true potential, we refuse to let them learn from their failures.

However, shielding our children from risks only cripples their ability to learn new skills and prevents them from discovering their innate abilities. It also hinders them from learning how to overcome failure and adapt to change- key attributes required for personal growth.

We live in a society in which we connect with technology hourly, but sadly don’t have much time or inclination to connect with nature. We’re missing out! Being in nature is good for the mind, body, and spirit, with research showing how it can make us happier and boost physical recovery from illness. Best of all, reaping the benefits of nature doesn’t require a weekend getaway in the mountains. You can achieve them with some light gardening. Here’s how gardening can help you reconnect with nature, which will make you a better person.

Have you ever experienced being in nature and feeling better about life and yourself? Perhaps feeling the sun on your shoulders and watching the beauty of the sun filtering through the trees made you feel more alive? It’s not your imagination to experience these things. Here’s how gardening benefits you.

Social media is ubiquitous today. Almost every adolescent is on at least one platform. But many of them fail to realize how oversharing personal information on social media can put them at risk. Cybersecurity experts have found that posting personal information can give hackers the tools they need to answer security questions and gain access to a victim’s profile.

Part of the “oversharing dilemma” stems from the parents. If a child has never been taught the risks of oversharing, they will come to view it as normal. Especially if all of their friends are constantly Tweeting their location and posting info about their families on Facebook, an adolescent will be likely to behave in the same manner.

As parents of teenagers, you can think of many things that cause you worry and anguish. Likely near the top of such a list are their interactions with bad teen friends. Years of effective parenting can unravel with a few bad choices made via the influence of negative peers.

Luckily, you have many practical steps you can take to help guide your teenagers through this time when peer influence is at its strongest.

Let’s face it, we’re all facing more chronic stress and anxiety these days than we did in years passed. That’s because competitive workplaces, long office hours, and countless personal commitments are all contributing to a higher amount of emotional strain. The good news is that you can treat these problems just like you would any other health condition – with the right healthy habits.

While things like meditation, therapy, and exercise can all contribute to giving you a more positive mindset, juicing could also have a part to play when it comes to minimizing cortisol levels, and giving you the emotional strength you need to thrive. It turns out that juice is great for a lot more than just reducing the excess fat around your stomach. With the right ingredients, and a little creativity, you can banish sources of depression, eliminate anxiety, and take control of your mood.

To help get you started, here are five incredible juices that will help you to say sayonara to chronic stress!

Building teen trust can be hard at times. Your teenagers are experiencing a transitional stage of life, enjoying more freedom than they had during childhood, and the taste of freedom can be addictive. As the parent, you place a certain amount of trust in your teen, hoping they will not abuse their freedom. But sometimes poor choices are made and that trust is broken.

I understand dealing with the shifting dynamics of trust between parents and teens can be difficult. As I have advised many parents of troubled teens, I have compiled some advice for you parents out there who are struggling with trusting your own teens.